The present invention relates to openings in swimwear and in particular to vents for boxer-type swim suits.
For a variety of reasons, most water skiers prefer to wear loose-fitting, boxer-type swim suits instead of short, form-fitting suits. Even so, these water skiers have in the past experienced a discomforting phenomenon.
At the beginning of a ski run, the pressure of water acting on the legs of a loose-fitting, boxer-type suit tends to cause these legs to balloon rearwardly. Water is temporarily trapped below the waistband of the suit. Then, as the skier emerges from the water, air becomes trapped in the same position. Built up as air pressure resists the skier's forward momentum, this air fills the legs of the suit, bulging them outwardly, like a parachute, behind the wearer's body.
The drag created first by water resistance and then by air resistance on loose-fitting swimmer only adds to the forces which must be overcome by the pull of a tow rope on a skier's hands, arms, and shoulders. Especially at the level of tournament competition, a level at which many skiers perform practice repetitions one after another each day, this drag contributes significantly to the strenuousness of a very demanding sport.
In addition to the fatigue caused by tension from the pull of a tow rope on a skier's hands, arms and shoulders, rearward ballooning of the bathing suit creates a discomforting sensation. Moreover, the great force of water pressure on a swim suit could, on occasion, cause it to tear.